The discrepancy between the self-assessment of facial size and shape and morphometric facial analysis in young female patients with anorexia nervosa

Purpose:
The aim of the study was to compare the subjective assessments made by patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) of their faces, including shape and dimensions, with the parameters obtained in the morphometric examination.

Methods:
Anorexic female patients were invited to participate in the study, which was a complex research focused on the following specific objectives: 1) patients’ facial symmetry evaluation based on a direct analysis by a doctor; 2) the relationship between the patient’s body mass index (BMI) and degree of subjective satisfaction with the shape and size of the patient’s face; 3) the objective dimensions and shape of the AN patients’ faces based on the morphometric test; and 4) the relationship between the type of face shape, defined by the morphometric test parameters, and the subjectively felt degree of patient satisfaction as well as their desire to change their facial appearance.

Results:
The faces of all girls involved in the study were found to be symmetrical. Statistical analyses revealed a relationship between the degree of satisfaction with the shape and dimensions of one’s face and the desire to change its appearance.

Conclusions:
In our study, most female patients with AN were dissatisfied with the appearance of their faces, believing they were wider than they actually were. No significant link was found between facial dissatisfaction and BMI, suggesting that distorted facial perceptions are more likely linked to cognitive and emotional factors than physical conditions.